Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Salvation Army bell ringers will hit the streets on Friday

It's $20 down and only $344,980 left to go for the Salvation Army to reach its 2009 Tree of Lights Campaign goal in the metro-east.

That's after former Fairview Heights Mayor George Lanxon made his traditional first donation to help kick off the campaign Wednesday. The kettles and bell ringers will hit the streets on Friday.

The breakfast, eaten in the gymnasium of the Salvation Army headquarters at 20 Glory Place off West Main Street in Belleville, was a first for the organization.

The money raised by hundreds of bell ringers in dozens of locations in the next couple of months goes to pay for Salvation Army programs. It will help feed and clothe the poor, and a lot of people who are newly poor, said Capt. Georgia Rodgers, who along with her husband Capt. Dale Rodgers, command the Belleville group.

"We have more and more people walking in on a first-time basis," she said. "There are a lot of people who have lost their jobs and are discovering us for the first time."

Rodgers introduced Emily Layton, a young woman who told the crowd of about 75 at the breakfast how the Salvation Army had helped her regain her focus and have a productive life.

Layton is an example of how the organization works, Rodgers said.

"We treat the whole person, physically and spiritually," she said.

In just a couple of weeks, the Salvation Army already has a list of more than 100 families for its Christmas program. That is 265 children to find toys for, she said.

There was also a promotion for the Be An Angel campaign, which allows people to buy clothing and other items for a specific family.

Rodgers said anyone is welcome to adopt a kettle. and it can even be used to advertise a business. The breakfast finished with all the people at the head table raising their bells to ring in the campaign.

For more information, call the Salvation Army at 235-7378.